Happiness program for teens to make Cohasset debut

Painting and playwriting. Singing and sculpture. Drawing and dance. When people think of “art,” these traditional forms come to mind. Most would not think of “breathing” or “living” as art forms.

According to Angela Babuschiak, they might be happier if they did. Babuschiak has studied the “Art of Living” and now plans to teach it to adolescents in Cohasset and beyond through a program called ART Excel, or All Round Training in Excellence.

“It’s changed my life in so many ways,” said Babuschiak. “It’s allowed me to respond to situations as opposed to react; it’s helped me with acceptance and compassion. It’s helped me to live a better life and be a better wife, friend, mother, and that’s what I want for my son.”

The four-day course that Babuschiak plans to host out of her home on August 25 through 28 will be her 11-year-old son’s first experience with the program, and his mom can’t wait to share it. She explained that the family has moved around a lot, and she believes that ART Excel will help him deal with that.

“It’s what I want for him, for his friends, and for the community,” she said.

The ART Excel course supports the overall well-being of children ages eight to 13 by teaching them a variety of empowering techniques that foster peace of mind, mental clarity and focus, physical relaxation and emotional stability.

ART Excel uses breathing, yoga, and games to teach students how to manage their emotions – especially the bad ones, like stress. It teaches them about sharing, working and playing in harmony, and developing a sense of belonging with others. It empowers them and builds self-confidence.

All of that helps prepare students for high school, college, careers, and life, said Babuschiak.

Babuschiak, a Cohasset resident of two years, didn’t invent ART Excel. Like the Art of Living happiness course that changed her life, this program was created by the Art of Living Foundation. Volunteers like Babuschiak just facilitate it. A trained instructor will come from Boston to administer the program.

The worldwide non-profit foundation not only offers classes for children, adults, and corporations in over 150 countries; it also supports humanitarian endeavors. Its latest effort is an independent film called “Sold” that aims to expose the reality of human trafficking in the unlikeliest places.

The foundation also provides programs in prisons and for veterans with PTSD, builds schools around the world, and supports water filtration efforts in places where clean drinking water is a luxury.

ART Excel isn’t new to the Boston area. It’s been offered in the city for about a year and a half. But Babuschiak’s course later this month will mark the program’s South Shore debut, at least for the younger demographic. An adult workshop was hosted in Cohasset earlier this year.

Babuschiak hopes that people won’t wait as long as she did to give the Art of Living courses a try. A friend told her about it seven years ago when she was living in Texas, but even though she was practicing yoga, it took Babuschiak a while to get comfortable with the idea of meditation.

“I had the body part but I needed the mind part,” Babushiak explained. “I take care of myself now, which is something I didn’t do before.”

To sign up your teen for the Cohasset program on August 25 through 28, contact Angela Babuschiak at 203-464-3342 or by email at ababs@me.com. The four-day program costs $200.

Queries are also welcome from adults who might like to try the happiness course that changed everything for Babuschiak. She’d like to offer the course in Cohasset if there is enough interest.

“Happiness is a birthright,” said Babuschiak. “It shouldn’t be a luxury. People just don’t know how to get in there. Peace is within you; you just have to dig deep until you find it.”